Any game that involves character customization and evolution can be boiled down to numbers. Each time you equip a better item, a certain value will increase somewhere. The same will happen when you mount a piece of equipment on your ship in EVE Online, but it can be quite difficult to keep track of all items and their effects, due to the game's complexity. Pyfa can help you figure out an optimal configuration for your ship, without having to dock it at a station and spend tons of ISK (the in-game currency) trying out different guns, shield modules and other pieces of equipment.

Of course, there are other similar applications out there, but the advantage that Pyfa has to offer is compatibility. This python-based application can run on mostly any operating system, while using an insignificant amount of memory and processing power. It is offered free of charge and it takes less than a minute to install it.

As previously mentioned, Pyfa's purpose is to help you find a good loadout for your ship, without spending any ISK. In fact, you don't even need to run the game or sign into your account. All you have to do is start the application, choose a ship and start equipping it with anything you want. You can pick any ship you want, from a lowly shuttle to a fearsome titan. The same can be said about equipment. Anything you have ever dreamed of having in EVE Online can be mounted on your chosen ship, assuming it is compatible.

As you outfit your ship, the application will display a wide range of statistics, based on how the selected equipment affects your ship. Based on the selected ship and equipment, Pyfa will let you know how much CPU or power grid your ship will use, how fast the guns will cool down, how much damage your armor and shields can withstand and so on.

Another important aspect is the fact that Pyfa takes your character's skills into account. Your in-game character may be skilled in armor, gunnery or others, which may affect different stats of the ship. By default, the application will calculate your ship's firepower, resistances and other stats, based on a character that has all skills at level 5 and you can set it to calculate for all skills at level 0. Alternatively, you may create a custom character, that will reflect your own skill choices and see what the application has to say about it. What's more, Pyfa can read character files, which gives you the possibility of importing your actual in-game character. Once imported, the application will give all the relevant readings on your ship, based on your own character and on the equipment you wish to mount on your ship.

Pros: You can experiment with different loadouts on an EVE Online ship. The application will tell you everything you need to know about a ship, based on your character's skills and on the selected equipment.

Cons: You can't compare different ship loadouts side by side.

If you can't decide what equipment to mount on your ship in EVE Online, Pyfa will help you figure it out, regardless of what operating system you are using.